Raj Thackeray's anti-Bihari speech will be examined: Patil

Home minister RR Patil has decided to crack the whip on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and has assured that his Friday's speech in which he made anti-Bihari remarks will be looked into.

"The entire speech has been recorded and will be checked word by word. If there is anything objectionable, we will take relevant action against him [Thackeray]," Patil said.

While reacting to reports of a letter written by Bihar chief secretary Naveen Kumar warning Mumbai police against picking up suspects without prior intimation to Bihar police, Thackeray on Friday threatened that Biharis in Maharashtra will be branded as 'infiltrators' if Mumbai police were prevented from arresting criminals in Bihar.

The 'infiltrators' remark made by Thackeray has sparked another verbal duel between him and North Indian politicians in the city. Sanjay Nirupam, Congress MP from North Mumbai, said: "Maharashtra's chief secretary and Mumbai police commissioner are competent enough to reply to the letter written by Bihar's chief secretary. Thackeray should not interfere in these matters."

Nirupam also condemned calling all Biharis in the state infiltrators. "People from Bihar are free to go wherever they want to, and Raj Thackeray has no right to insult them in this manner," he said.

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi termed Thackeray a 'militant' and demanded his party be declared a hate-mongering party for spreading hatred by making militant statements. "If the police officials of one state go to another, they should inform the government and the police of that concerned state. The country will be run according to the Constitution, not by somebody's hooliganism. If the chief secretary of Bihar has written such a letter to the Maharashtra government, then I don't think it is wrong," said Azmi.